SUMMARY NATION & MIGRATION – BOOK
Chapter 7: Migration in the Asia-Pacific region
Chapter 5: Migration in Europe since 1945
Chapter 9: Migration, security and the debate on climate change
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Theories of migration
Chapter 10: The state and international migration
Chapter 13: Immigrants and politics
Chapter 3: How migration transforms societies
Chapter 12: New ethnic minorities and society
Chapter 14: Migration in the 21st century
CHAPTER 7: MIGRATION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
Asian countries are the world's main emigration countries in volume, although emigration rates are
low, relative to the vast size of their populations
• In the 1970s and 1980s, international migration from Asia grew rapidly
• Since the 1990s, the major growth has been in migration within Asia, particularly from less-
developed countries to fast-growing industrializing countries
Generalizations are very difficult → sub-regions differ greatly in history, culture, religion, economy and
politics, and even within each country there is enormous diversity
The development of Asian migration
• 19th century → considerable migration from China and Japan to the USA, Canada and Australia
• Early part of 20th century → migration from Asia was low, owing to the restrictive policies by
immigration countries and colonial powers
o Movements within Asia continued, often connected with political struggles
• 1960s → external movements started to grow → reasons
• Discriminatory rules against Asian entries were repealed in Canada
• Increased foreign investment and trade helped create the communicative networks
needed for migration
• The US military presence in Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries forged
transnational links, as well as directly stimulating movement in the shape of brides of US
personnel
• Vietnam War caused large-scale refugee movements
• Openness of the USA, Canada and Australia to family migration meant that primary
movements gave rise to further entries of permanent settlers
• Construction projects in the Gulf oil countries caused mass recruitment of temporary
contract workers
• Rapid economic growth in several Asian countries led to movements of both highly skilled
and unskilled workers
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, • Asia's massive entry onto the world migration stage in the mid-20th century can be seen as the
result of the opening up of the continent to economic and political relationships with the
industrialized countries in the postcolonial period
• All countries in the region experience both significant emigration and immigration (and often
transit migration too), but it is possible to differentiate between predominantly immigration
countries, countries with both significant immigration and emigration, and mainly emigration
countries
Asian migration to Western Europe, North America and Oceania
• In the past, many Asian migrants moved to the 'classical immigration countries' (USA, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand), but a recent trend is the growth of Asian migration to Europe
Contract labour migration to the Middle East
• Labour migration from Asia to the Middle East developed rapidly after the oil price rises of 1973
• Asian migration to the Middle East has become more diverse over time
o While many migrants remain low-skilled labourers, others have (semi-)skilled jobs or
professional qualifications
Labour migration within Asia
• Since the mid-1980s, rapid economic growth and declining fertility have increased labour
demand in the new industrial economies of Asia. At the same time, economic stagnation, high
fertility and lack of employment in other Asian countries encourage emigration
• In all the 'tiger economies', migrant workers are doing the low-skilled and poorly paid jobs that
nationals can increasingly afford to reject
• Highly skilled migration has recently increased throughout the region, particularly because
demand for health and care workers is increasing
Feminization of migration
• There was little female labour migration in Asia before the late 1970s, after which the demand
for female domestic workers surged
• These jobs generally offer poor pay, conditions and status, and are associated with patriarchal
stereotypes of female docility, obedience and willingness to give personal service
• Over 90 per cent of international marriages in East Asia are between a foreign-born woman and
a native-born man
• The high proportion of foreign mothers is regarded by some as a threat to national identity
Migration agents and irregular migration
• An important feature of Asian labour migration is the major role played by the migration industry
o Migration agents and labour brokers organize recruitment of migrant workers
o Match-makers organize marriage migration
o Some carry out legitimate activities, others deceive and exploit migrants
• Irregular (or undocumented) migration has grown rapidly and affects many countries
o Growth of irregular migration is linked to the unwillingness of governments to allow legal
entries and the desire of employers for easily available and exploitable workers
o It can create situations of insecurity and rightlessness for workers
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,Temporary migration
• The majority of Asian governments seek to control migration strictly, and migrants' rights are
often very limited
o Labour migration is seen as a temporary necessity, which should not lead to permanent
settlement or to changes in the culture and identity of destination countries
• Ideas from Europe, North America or Oceania on the benefits of multi-culturalism are unpopular
in most Asian societies, which have difficulties with the idea of immigrants turning into citizens
o It is seen as a threat to the nation-state and should only be temporary
East Asia
• Rapid economic growth
• Fertility decline
• Ageing
• Growing undocumented migration
→ Has led to serious contradictions, most evident in Japan, but also emerging in South Korea, Hong
Kong, Taiwan and China
South-East Asia
• Enormous ethnic, cultural and religious diversity
• Considerable disparities in economic development
• Governments of immigration countries are concerned about maintaining ethnic balances, and
competing possible threats to security
Countries of emigration
• Industrializing Asian countries have become major labour providers for the region and the rest of
the world
• The governments of labour-sending countries see migration as economically vital, but by the
early 21st century, with industrial development spreading to new regions, migration patterns
were gaining in complexity
o Some sending countries were also increasingly attracting migrants, such as highly skilled
personnel or spouses, to make up for demographic imbalances
Highly qualified migrants and students
• Most Asian migration is of low-skilled workers, but mobility of highly skilled personnel is growing
• University-trained people have been moving from Asia → brain drain → loss of human capital in
obstacle to development
• Important emerging trend → the growth of highly skilled mobility within Asia
o Regional migration flows are becoming far more diverse
o Either on temporary or permanent basis
• Another form of highly qualified migration concerns executives and experts transferred within
multinational enterprises, or officials posted abroad by international organizations
Diaspora policies
• Perceptions of skilled migration have changed through awareness of the development of
diasporas, and the idea they can be a source of remittances and investment for countries of
origin, and help homeland producers gain new markets abroad
Refugees
• In the wider sense of forced migration, millions of people are displaced by conflict, violence and
human rights abuses, but remain in their own countries (internal migration)
• Millions more are displaced by development projects, such as large dams, while others flee
natural disasters, like volcanoes and floods
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, • The Asian experience shows the complexity of refugee situations at times of rapid change: they
are hardly ever a simple matter of individual political persecution
o Almost invariably, economic and environmental pressures play a major part
o Refugee movements are the result of the massive social transformations
Oceania
• Oceania is the world-region with the highest proportion of migrants
• Australia
o The indigenous population was dispossessed and marginalized, with many people dying
as a result of massacres, poor living conditions and imported illnesses
o Australia has become one of the world's most diverse countries, with people close to 200
origin areas
o 1989: emphasize on the need to recognize cultural diversity as a basis for Australian
social policy, citizenship and identity
▪ However, anti-immigration and anti-minority sentiments began to grow → when
John Howard became Prime Minister in 1996, Australian immigration policy entered
a new era, with strong emphasis on recruitment of skilled personnel, cuts in family
reunion, draconian measures against asylum seekers and a shift away from
multiculturalism
o The big change in Australia is the growth of temporary migration
o Australia has a voluntary resettlement programme for refugees selected in overseas
camps, yet its response to asylum seekers has become increasingly hostile
• New Zealand
o Migration has had important consequences for culture, identity and politics
▪ The country has gone from a white settler colony with an indigenous Maori minority
to a much more complex multi-ethnic society in which about three-quarters are
white people of European origin
o Ethnic diversity has become an issue of concern for both government and non-
governmental organizations, although the priority of official policy is still on its biculturalism
based on the historical relationship between indigenous Maori and British settlers
Conclusions: perspectives for Asian migration
• In Australia and New Zealand, widespread recognition that migration has been a major factor
shaping society over the last half-century
• Most Asian governments still see migration primarily in economic terms
o Receiving countries emphasize the importance of temporary labour supplies
o Sending countries look at the potential economic benefits of remittances and diaspora
investments
• But Asian migration does not only have economic impacts → it is becoming a major element of
demographic, social and political change
• The early 21st century has been a period of growing diversity in Asian migration
o In- and outflows of varying types
o Economic migrants at all skill levels
• New transport and communication technologies have opened the way for increased temporary
and circular migration
• Rapid growth of Asian migration can only be understood in the context of rapid social
transformations taking place in the region, along with the uneven nature of these shifts
• Asian governments and public opinion often perceive immigration as a threat to their models of
the nation state
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